hurricane season

So, it seems like September is shaping up to be an exciting month in the Atlantic Ocean.  That's not surprising, since the past two years have been relatively tame.  I think that the Southeast depends on some activity to generate rain during the drier months, though it's certainly a struggle.  I mean, hurricanes bring rain, but they also bring wind gusts, storm surges and random tornadoes.  

I think any kid who grew up in a state with a coast has a story about that one big hurricane.  Mine was Hugo.  I was 10, in the Fifth grade, and I thought it was awesome.  I imagine, in fact I know, that my parents viewed it quite differently...especially since they were parents and property owners.  To me, it was an extended vacation.  Sort of like a long camping trip at home.  I mean, we didn't have power for a while and we didn't go to school for a while longer.  I remember a picture of the boats from the Charleston Harbor that landed in the middle of downtown streets after the storm surge receded.  But, what I remember more, was how "perfect" of a storm Hugo was.

You can google the images of Hugo.  They're quite different from the images of Katrina.  We didn't suffer the extensive flooding like the Gulf Coast did.  But, we had some spectacular images.  The Ben Sawyer Bridge turned and shoved into the river.  The side torn completely off of the hotel that sits on the Battery.  The boats in the middle of the roads.  And, all of the trees without tops.  I think was is actually really amazing is that Hugo was still a category 1 hurricane by the time it reached Charlotte, NC.  That alone demonstrates how compact, dense and, perhaps, perfect the storm really was.